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The paladins could live without some earth commodities. They adjusted to the Altean food, they accepted wearing their armor while they washed their one pair of clothes, and they tolerated the strange music that Coran and Allura would play over the entire ship when they missed Altea. But for the humans, there was one thing they couldn’t tolerate.
“We’re going back to the space mall and getting toothpaste.” Shiro decided, leaving no room for argument.
Within an hour, the paladins compiled a list of necessities they would purchase. Toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, razors, new clothes, different types of food, all the things on Earth they always took for granted. Coran insisted that they had the equivalent of some of those things on the ship, but everyone rallied to get Earth deodorant. Pidge threatened to take the wheel herself if Allura didn’t turn the ship around.
As the castleship grew closer to the space mall, the paladins began to get excited. The shopping list grew from necessities to the things they started to missed as well. But the Red Paladin noticed that something was off. Lance was being oddly quiet. He threw out only basic suggestions, like fingernail clippers and combs. Keith scoffed at his lack of participation.
“What, you don’t want a friend for Kaltenecker?”
Lance shrugged and muttered that getting a cow - even if it was free - was probably a bad idea because they had little means to feed it. Even though the Blue Paladin’s alarmingly realistic comment surprised everyone, they continued to make the list. But Keith was left with suspicion. Something was definitely wrong with Lance.
Keith considered calling him out on it. It was important for them to be open with each other about things. But he remembered Lance’s tendency to get homesick every so often and figured that it was probably best not to bother him about it.
The castleship was half an hour from the space mall. Keith managed to duck out of Coran trying to disguise the paladins again and headed towards the training deck. He spent a lot of alone time there, both training with his bayard and being alone with his thoughts.
But he found that he wasn’t alone this time. As he turned to remove his jacket and tighten his gloves, Keith spotted Lance. He was propped up against the far wall, eyes closed and breathing oddly heavily. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face. Did he really train that hard since the last time I saw him?
“You alright, Lance?”
Lance’s eyelids shot open and he stood up fast, “Yeah, fine! Just getting some extra reps in before we hit the space mall. Gotta be lookin’ good for all those alien ladies out there.” He laughed weakly. A menagerie of emotions crossed Keith’s mind for a split second, but he pushed them away.
“ Right . Since you’re here, I’d rather spar against a human than the robot thing. Are you up for it?”
Lance nodded a little too fast. He went to take a step forward but stumbled over nothing from what Keith could see. He barely caught himself and came up looking even paler than before. He lazily put up his fists, looking like he was about to fall over.
“On second thought, maybe you should sit down...” Keith suggested, positioning one of his hands as if to guide the weary paladin to a chair. Lance pulled back and held his fists higher.
“No, I’m fine! Let’s go, Keith!”
Keith frowned at the aggression, but shrugged, “Whatever you say,” and put his fists up as well.
It took three steps for the Red Paladin to beat Lance, if you could truly call it ‘beating’. It took two steps for him to get him in a headlock, one step to let him go, and a second later, Lance flopped to the ground. His body made a disturbingly loud thump as it hit the ground - he hadn’t just landed on his knees hard. He flopped over in such an awkward position that Keith almost screeched. He fell next to Lance’s side and rolled him onto his back.
“Lance! Lance wake up!” As Keith grasped Lance’s shoulders to wake him, he couldn’t help but notice the heat rolling off of him, “Lance!” Fear settled in his stomach.
Did I just kill Lance? It was just a headlock! I didn’t even hold him that hard-
The paladin under him groaned and his eyes fluttered open. Keith’s panicked expression loomed over him, mouthing words that he couldn’t hear. He had never seen Keith look so afraid before. Just as the words started to come into hearing range, a headache shot through his head like a bullet. Everything was suddenly too bright and too loud, though Keith was the only one talking. He wanted to be back on Earth. He wanted to be back home with his family. He wanted to be useful for once, and being sick was not the way he was going to do it. He could feel the tears welling up behind his eyes, and tried his best not to let them show.
Keith was finally able to breathe when Lance was responsive. He lifted Lance’s head and placed it on his own lap, then took off his glove and placed the back of his hand on Lance’s forehead.
“God, Lance, you’re burning up. Why did you say you were good to fight?”
The only response Keith got was a shiver and Lance putting his hands over his face. Keith was about to ask what on earth he was doing when a choked sob came from Lance’s throat. He rolled onto his side and buried his face into Keith’s leg, grasping the dark jeans as his body trembled.
Keith was frozen for a few good moments before thoughts returned to his mind. Half of them were screaming nonsense about what to do for his feverish crying friend, but the other half worked a bit better. He placed his hand gently between Lance’s shoulder blades and could feel the shivers run down his spine.
“Hey...Lance, it’s alright...” he said in the softest voice he could manage, “It’s okay. I don’t...understand? What’s going on here...but...” He stopped himself, seeing that the words did nothing. An ache wiggled its way into his heart. He knew something was wrong. He knew it, he saw the signs earlier that day.
I should’ve said something.
In one fell swoop, Keith scooped up Lance below the knees and around the shoulders, leaving his gloves and jacket in the training room. Lance curled around his middle and tucked his head into Keith’s collarbone, tears still streaking down his cheeks. With careful maneuvering, Keith managed to call the elevator and pushed the intercom with Lance’s foot.
“Hey, Shiro?”
“Keith? What is it?”
“Lance is really sick. He passed out and he’s burning up, I’m taking him up to his room.”
Keith felt Lance’s muscles clench up under his hands but still listened intently to the team leader.
“What?! He was fine this morning!”
Lance pressed his fist to his mouth, “Keith...”
“I know, that’s why I’m worried! What, Lance?”
“...my stomach...” his muscles tensed up again.
“I’ll meet you in the room - get him there fast.” The Black Paladin signed off, and Keith could focus his attention. Lance had gone ghostly pale and wrapped his other arm around his middle.
“What about it?”
“...don’ feel so good-” His voice caught on an ominous hiccup, and Keith cringed.
“I swear to god if you puke on me, I’ll drop you down the elevator shaft,” he didn’t like how brittle his voice came off, and quickly changed his tone, “Just...just hang on a bit longer. We’ll get to your room soon. You’ll be alright.”
Lance took a moment to swallow hard, then nodded. The saving grace of the elevator doors opened, and the paladins descended.
Keith was able to get Lance hovering over a trash can in his bedroom before he started gagging. Each retch seemed more and more painful for the Blue Paladin. Sweat gleamed off his forehead as his body shook. Keith couldn’t tell if the shaking was from the stomach muscles spasming or the fever chills. In either case, worry kept creeping into his head. He let his face fall from the normal stoic expression as he ran his hand up and down Lance’s spine.
“C’mon Lance....just get it up, you’ll feel better...”
Just as Lance started to vomit up his minimalistic breakfast, Shiro opened the door and walked in. Keith looked up, and for a split second, Shiro could read all the fear he had for Lance in his eyes. It flickered away quickly, but Shiro understood it well enough.
The Black Paladin kneeled in front of Lance, holding the trash can in the right position. With his arms free, Lance wrapped them around his middle and continued to heave.
“When did he pass out?” Shiro asked, trying to take his attention away from the vomit so close to him.
“Just a few minutes ago. He wanted to spar with me, and I guess he just got tired? I’m not sure. He just passed out...” Keith answered. He really didn’t like the unsteadiness to his voice, but he couldn’t take it back now. Lance coughed weakly, spitting the last of the bile in his mouth into the trashcan. He slumped against Keith in exhaustion.
“Alright. I’m gonna get you two set up and get the others to the mall.” Shiro sighed. He took a washcloth from the bathroom, soaked it in water, and delicately placed it on Lance’s forehead.
Keith’s eyes widened, “Y-you’re not staying here? With Lance?”
“The last time I left you guys alone at the mall, you were chased out by Galra Mall Security and came back with a cow. An earth cow. From a space mall. We won’t be gone long. I’m sure he’ll just fall asleep,” Shiro turned his gaze towards Keith, “You take good care of him while I’m gone, okay?”
It was a little-known fact that Keith could find things very fast. From Hunk’s screwdriver to Pidge’s glasses to one of Allura’s mice, he was able to locate objects with a startling accuracy. So it only took him a few minutes to come back to Lance’s room with Altean medicine, three different blankets, and anything else he thought he might need while watching over Lance. For a while, he felt prepared. He could handle this for the few hours that Shiro would be gone.
But then Lance’s tears started again. And Keith was hit with the sudden realization that he had no idea how to handle this.
“Lance....Lance, it’s okay...what are you so upset about...?”
It took a few minutes before Lance’s fever-ridden brain could get the words out, “Everything hurts, I feel really sick....and I wanna go home...”
This sent him into another bout of sobbing that ending in dry heaving.
Each minute felt like an hour. Keith did all he could for Lance - back rubs, extra blankets, iced washcloths, he even tried to melt the food goo into something like a soup that Lance might be able to stomach easier.
But the Blue Paladin wasn't improving. He couldn't even keep water down, his temperature seemed to be rising, he was an emotional wreck from the fever, and worst of all, he couldn't sleep. Keith had to wrangle a strange mix of helplessness and frustration. He wanted to strangle and hug Lance all at once.
It reached the point where Keith’s anger got the better of him.
“Lance, why can't you just start getting better?! I've been doing all I'm supposed to! Do you know how many times you've almost thrown up on me?! Do me a favor and JUST SLEEP !”
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Lance blinked a few times, hurt plastered all across his face. He shrank from Keith's hand and turned to face the wall. It was worse than if he'd started crying again.
“...sorry...” he muttered.
Keith's heart shattered.
“Lance, I...”
What could he have said? The words were already out there, and he couldn't take them back. Lance trembled in the corner he made for himself, not looking like he would turn back anytime soon.
“...are you still cold?” Keith found himself asking. All the blankets were already draped over Lance, but he was still trembling. Keith got no response.
With all the gentleness he could muster, the Red Paladin took off his shoes and laid down next to Lance, “Come here. Take my body heat.”
Lance hesitated, but he eventually flipped back around and latched onto Keith's body. The both of them sighed, and Keith adjusted the washcloth limply hanging on Lance's forehead.
“I miss Earth too...” he said quietly, “I miss our sun. And the clouds.”
“I miss the rain...”
“Yeah...” Keith looked down, “I'm sorry I yelled.”
“I'm sorry I'm such a handful when I'm sick...and I'm sorry I get really homesick...”
“You're not a handful. I'm just inexperienced and I'm used to just looking out for me. And I'm not...good at comforting.”
Lance settled in a little closer, “You're doing a good job right now...”
The Red Paladin’s shattered heart started to piece itself together. It beat a little harder than he thought it would when Lance pulled himself closer.
“Shiro said you should try to sleep.”
“I can’t...everything hurts too much...”
“Try? Your body's gotta be exhausted.”
Lance nodded slightly and closed his eyes.
Keith wasn't sure what came over him. With Lance finally relaxing against his chest and exhaustion settling in for both of them, the words just slipped out of his mouth.
“Was is you who spoke the words,
That things would happen but not to me,
Oh, things are gonna happen naturally...”
He froze in complete terror. He made it very clear to himself long ago that he would never sing in front of anyone else. He begged, even prayed that Lance had already fallen asleep, but he had no such luck.
Lance shifted, tucking himself even closer to the heat source, “That was nice....don't stop...” he slurred, very close to finally dozing off. Keith put his hand on Lance’s back and took a breath.
“And taking your advice, I’m looking on the bright side,
And balancing the whole thing...”
Shiro found both the paladins asleep in Lance’s bed, snoring softly.
Within a few days, Lance recovered from his illness well enough to function on his own. Memories of his down time faded in and out, his fever taking most of them when it left him.
“I had such weird fever dreams. And some of them felt realistic, I can’t really tell what happened or not,” he said over dinner.
“What did you dream about?” Shiro asked.
“Well, there was when Pidge’s skin turned green. I’m pretty sure that one was a dream.”
“Definitely a dream,” Pidge confirmed.
“Shiro bought us all pajamas at the mall. His had a cat face on the shirt.”
Hunk almost choked on his food goo with laughter, “No, that was real.”
“Kaltenecker got shot out into space but managed to survive? Cause she’s a space cow or something?”
“Dream.”
“And I think Keith sang to me? And it was actually really good.”
The rest of the paladins turned to Keith. Fork still in his mouth, he felt his face start to turn red, but he tried to suppress it. “ Definitely a dream. I don’t sing.”
Lance knew better. He heard the same song in the showers late at night. He tried not to make it a habit, but he’d find himself sitting outside bathroom, listening to the Red Paladin while everyone else was asleep. The words gave him the same warm and hazy feeling he had when he first heard them.